Babies and Alien Abductions

Erin and I went to the OB-GYN for the weekly (at this point in pregnancy) checkup to make sure mama and baby are good and okay and everything seems to be progressing according to schedule. Baby is doing fine. The distance from pelvic bone to top of whatever is at 36 centimeters which, amazingly enough matches the number of weeks codename: CAMPER has been growing. We get to go back a week from Monday for a weekly visit and the hope (expressed by le doctor) is that codename: CAMPER decides to come early.

However, after exam was done (and other things) Erin did ask some questions, specifically about baby inoculations that might be insisted upon by hospital staff and our doctor said that the only thing she was serious about making sure baby had (immediately) was a vitamin K shot that was useful in rare circumstances when babies start to bleed into their brains or eyes. And yes, the imagery is gross, and yes we will probably allow that to happen. The issue that I have, though, is that mercury is used in inoculations to help preserve it and trace amounts of mercury can be bad for baby. However, with that said, I also know that the body is resistant to absorbing mercury and as a result, and since the household (and eating out) diet has avoided most fish products, while Erin has eaten low-risk fish products (e.g. tuna fish and cod) and only rarely, the likelihood of mercury causing a problem in birth is rather low.

However, the doctor, the moment Erin brought up the question, immediately lept into a near diatribe about parents with unfounded opinions based off of websites and non-professional opinions, that included deformities, Downs Syndrome, and alien abductions. Do people really think that an alien abduction is going to take place if we have codename: CAMPER inoculated against herpes or given a necessary vitamin K shot. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I have no issue with waiting a couple of weeks for most inoculations, and we actually live in a world where instances of outbreaks of the very inoculations (especially in an infant) are very low, and the mortality rate does not increase or decrease with or without (and certainly not in the first couple of weeks) with the outcome being that do it or don’t, I am not sure whether or not we, collectively, care. It was just great to hear an example like alien abduction as a reason someone would endanger their child.

Regardless, the visit was rather routine. Erin can actually come at almost any point now. She is experiencing real contractions (now that we know what to look for). And when they get close enough together we (Lisa and I) will take her to Labor and Delivery at our hospital of choice (I had one of the full-time BYU Staff people tell me it was the best hospital around… of course, we’ve had dozens of people tell us it was the worst place to have a baby) and soon thereafter we will bring codename: CAMPER home.

With all that said, I do have to admit that as this all becomes more and more real (doctor told us she could feel codename: CAMPER’s head pointing down) that I become a little bit more freaked out at the notion that not only do I have to worry about me, and not only do I have to worry about Erin, but collectively (and individually) we get to worry about a child on top of school and work and moving and graduate programs and other responsibilities and as a result I wonder just how well codename: CAMPER is going to fit into our lives.

Sure, pretty well and he will be ours is all nice and good, but regardless of the child watching I’ve done, regardless of the poopy diapers I’ve changed (in the past), regardless of all of that, children, before now, always went back to their parents and I had release and now I am the parent. Can you say, “Freaky”?

John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West

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